SEATTLE, WA – Since Trump has returned to the Oval Office, he has led a crusade against “DEI” (short for diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, going so far as to sign an executive order that signals federal agencies to end their own DEI initiatives, writes The Root.
According to the official White House website, which The Root cites, such DEI initiatives “violate Federal civil-rights laws … (and) undermine our national unity (and) traditional American values … in favor of an … identity-based spoils system.”
In the time since Trump won the election, many corporations and private enterprises—from Big Tech to Fast Food—have forgotten the DEI initiatives they established in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests, The Root continues.
However, Costco, one of the nation’s largest wholesale retailers, has reaffirmed its commitment to DEI just this last week, added The Root.
An overwhelming majority of Costco shareholders rejected a proposal that would investigate DEI initiatives’ impacts on business; Costco chairman Hamilton James, along with other board members, publicly supported the proposal’s rejection, reported The Root.
“We owe our success to the more than 300,000 employees who serve our members every day. It is important that they all feel included and appreciated and that they transmit these values to our customers,” James declared in a statement.
Johnson notes, said The Root, there has been some positive online reception to Costco’s adherence to DEI, with one X user posting: “I don’t have kids and live alone; I don’t need a Costco membership. But I’m about to get one today. Sign me up!”
“An overwhelming majority of Costco shareholders rejected a proposal that would investigate DEI initiatives’ impacts on business; Costco chairman Hamilton James, along with other board members, publicly supported the proposal’s rejection”
Since it was 98% of the voting shares that voted against the proposal to look into DEI that caught my interest. I found that 72% of Costco shares are owned by institutions, so they voted along with management’s directive. Also let’s say one owned 100 shares of Costco and didn’t bother to return the proxy as I often do. Your vote is automatically voted how the board advised. So take the 98% percentage with a grain of salt.
Pretty sure they’d get a different result if Costco polled its members/customers.
I agree, and Costco would get a very different result if each stockholder had an equal vote as the institutions and actually took the time to read the proxy and submit their votes.
KO, have you ever seen one of those giant salt crystals?